Dat260 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Hi guys, I know this subject has come up many times but it seems that the handbrake question has been settled with the factory set-up only. The spot caliper is an aftermarket option but from what I understand some of you don't seem to trust it, specially the Zowners who lives in cities like San Francisco. I've been looking to upgrade my brakes with aftermarket parts such as Willwood and other brands but its obligatory for my handbrake to be operational. I keep on looking at the willwood site and they have a rear brake set-up w/handbrake that as the appearence of a stock set-up which is ideal for me and maybe for some of you. I think this can be a design for JSK or Ross who can fabricate something like that for our car. Would this design work on Zcars? Cheers, Ari http://www.magnumforceracing.com/images/product_images/wilwood/wilwood_rearpark_instdrwng.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 The 240SX rear brake setup Ross sells uses the handbrake, I have it and like it. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 That is called "drum-in-hat" and I don't think it's a good idea for Wilwoods on a Z. The whole idea of going to the aluminum hat is to reduce weight, and putting a little drum brake in there gains you all the weight back and more, plus a whole lot more complexity. Also, the aluminum hat would have to be machined to be used as a drum, and I don't know how well the aluminum would like being used as a drum (Z aluminum drums have a steel liner where the brake shoes ride). If you have to have a handbrake, then take Owen's advice and use the 240SX or Maxima brackets and ZX calipers would be my suggestion. The drum in hat is just too complicated, adds too much weight, and doesn't seem to be very compatible with the Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toysport Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 With the use of 82-83 280ZX rear brake rotors and rear calipers from an 85-88 Nissan Maxima (front wheel drive).....The brackets, brake lines and the original emergency brake cable is retained.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 I use a line lock for my P brake. It hasn't bled down but the longest I have had it set was for a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarnut Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 With the use of 82-83 280ZX rear brake rotors and rear calipers from an 85-88 Nissan Maxima (front wheel drive).....The brackets, brake lines and the original emergency brake cable is retained.. The only way to use the 1985-88 Maxima rear caliper and have use of the parking brake is to change the parking brake cable bracket and lever located on the caliper. Motorsport Auto outlines this in their instructions included in their kit: http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/MaximaRearCaliper002.jpg However, having installed one of these Motorsport Auto kits on a friend’s 260Z, I will state that this “solution” is not optimal. The angle of the parking brake cable is not ideal and even worse was the action and performance of the parking brake. Big disappointment. It’s obvious that not enough engineering went into the parking brake operation. Motorsport simply found some stock Nissan parts that “helped” the situation, but did not completely resolve the issue. Personally, I think the optimal solution for the parking brake is the “drum in rotor”. This is what Nissan used on the Z32 and what Toyota used on the Supra and early Cressida. The cast iron interior surface of the drum is an excellent braking surface. More weight? Yes. More complexity? Big yes. But these are the engineering tradeoffs. I have looking into adapting the Toyota parts into the early Z car rear strut (because Toyota uses the same wheel bolt pattern) and it would require a lot of machining and welding to even get a prototype built. Not the “bolt-up” solution I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 IMHO the most practical solution is to use calipers that incorporate a handbrake mechanism that works the existing disc brake pads. It isn't even necessary to use ventilated rotors in my experience, my rear 295x15mm solid rotors don't overheat over five or six laps of a twisty circuit involving some pretty heavy braking. They work great and save weight over ventilated. There were quite a few cars which used the 'all in one' calipers so there are choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 There's a valid reason why most cars have drum pads for ebrake in a rear disk setup.... If you come to a stop to park the car after a hot braking session, you don't want to weld your pads to your brakes. So, those of you running 240sx rear calipers with ebrakes, after you do a track session, don't throw the ebrake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Aux, you don't think the hat gets hot? I've had my brakes so hot I couldn't touch the wheels!!! You are right though, definitely a very bad idea to do a session then come in and pull the ebrake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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